


Now Your Mess Is Mine

by Huntchaser



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mutual Pining, Physical Therapy, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, and the fact that they end up together, changes to certain characters get changed a little bit backstory wise for plot reasons, episodes follow canon but the only changes are hayes is alive and malcolm is a lieutenant commander, hayes and reed just cant talk about feelings well okay, oh yeah malcolm actually gets to punch a nazi this time whos excited, shirtless sparring because reasons, theyre just pent up anger and sexual tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-11-11 13:02:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11148972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntchaser/pseuds/Huntchaser
Summary: You're the reason that I feel so strongThe reason that I'm hanging onYou know you gave me all the timeOr did I give enough of mine?--Two inches to the left and two inches down and he would have been dead. But he wasn’t. For the first time in a long time, Malcolm thanked the heavens that Hayes had lived, that the MACO was right in front of him. When did he develop a soft spot for the man who he was convinced was going to take his job less than a month ago?--Rewrite of Season 4 of Enterprise with Hayes and how he and Malcolm fall into a love for the ages





	1. Countdown to the Zero Hour

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to this fic, it's a WIP and I'll update it when I can, usually when I finish chapters. So as you can guess this is a fic with Hayes being alive set during Season 4 of Enterprise, but I'm starting with Countdown and Zero hour to set the mood and ideas of the fic. There will be plenty of things that don't fit into the canon like some of the ships and the way some of the scenes are written, but I try my best to keep canon the same for the major details. This fic's chapters will contain mostly rewrites of scenes from canon and scenes that happened between what we saw in the show that develop the ships and characters to the story I have planned out. Thank you so much for stopping by to read!

 

“I could use a change of scenery!”

“Standby, Major.” 

Hayes turned a bit, ready for transport, but that turn had easily left his shoulder open to a shot. He felt the warm feeling of the transporter beam overtake him but at the same time, the sharp pain of something in his shoulder and he tried his hardest not to scream. Then everything went black.

* * *

 

“Doctor!” Malcolm rushed into sickbay

“I told him I was ready for duty,” Hayes smiled at Malcolm, but he was still pale and he didn't look too good if the Lieutenant Commander did say so himself, which he wouldn’t, the Major probably didn’t need that right now. 

Instead, Malcolm let out a soft chuckle and placed his hand on Hayes’ and smiled back. “He’s a bit of a mother hen, I’m afraid.” Reed sighed and looked at Hayes with clouded grey eyes. Two inches to the left and two inches down and he would have been dead. But he wasn’t. For the first time in a long time, Malcolm thanked the heavens that Hayes had lived, that the MACO was right in front of him. When did he develop a soft spot for the man who he was convinced was going to take his job less than a month ago?

“What about Ensign Sato?”

“Her biosigns are stable, Major,” Phlox interrupted the two of them, placing a hypospray against Hayes’ neck.

“Thank you for bringing her home.”

“All in a day’s work,” Hayes coughed weakly, groaning at the pain in his shoulder. “Use MacKenzie.”

“What?”

“She knows the team better than anyone else.”

“No more of the talk, Major,” Reed scolded softly, not even realising at that point he had been squeezing Hayes’ hand softly. “You’ll be fine. That’s an order.” He looked at the injured MACO and squeezed his hand again, then stepping away. 

“Reed?” Hayes called out, but by the time he did, the Brit was out the door and ready to kill the Reptilian Xindi for what they had done to his crew. Hayes found himself already missing the warmth of the other man’s hand and let out a sigh. 

Reed was on a warpath and everyone knew better than to get in his way, he may not have tackled people like the former football player that Commander Tucker was when he ran through the corridors, but he was more of a force to be reckoned with. By now, even the newest additions to the crew knew that if Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Reed had that look on his face, the one with furrowed eyebrows and a slight snarl on his lips, it was better just to let him go by without objecting or saying anything to him at all. He stepped into the Command Center and raised an eyebrow at Archer, Tucker, and T’Pol, who were standing with two of the Xindi, neither of whom he remembered the name of. 

“Set a course for Sphere Forty-One,” Archer’s voice commanded before he heard the door open when he turned to Malcolm. “How’s Major Hayes, Malcolm?”

“He’ll live, but it’s not pretty, sir,” Malcolm informed the Captain, not even realising he had started scratching at his shoulder in the exact spot where Hayes had been hit. “His shoulder, right here,” he indicated to the spot where he had been previously scratching. Two inches to the left and two inches down.

“And Hoshi?”

“Phlox says she’ll be okay, sir.”

Archer nodded and turned back to the Xindi. “This is my tactical officer, Malcolm Reed. He’s the one who will take us inside the sphere, he’s been in one.”

Each of the Xindi offered a hand for Malcolm to shake and he did so, it would have been rude and against all his manners to do so. “A pleasure,” He bitterly said, though the bitter was an undertone and probably barely noticeable to anyone. “If you don’t mind, sir, I need to go assemble a MACO team.”

Archer nodded at Reed and turned back to the Xindi, talking to them about their plans. Malcolm barely heard what they were saying he was already headed down to the armoury.  _ Step, step, step, step, turn, step -- _

“Mal! Hey!” Trip called out, running up behind Malcolm and catching up to him, hands resting in his pockets as they walked down the hall towards the armoury. Trip knew that Malcolm was in one of his moods, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying to talk to him. 

Reed didn’t even slow down his pace or stop as Trip came up next to him, eyes staying trained ahead of him. “Yes?” He snapped at the blond engineer, voice practically poison dripping from his mouth. 

The engineer spoke quickly, but Malcolm could still hear it, he had gotten used to Trip speaking quickly over their last three years together. “Bring me back a piece of the weapon. A souvenir.”

“With pleasure,” Malcolm growled, entering the armoury as Trip made a turn that would eventually lead him to engineering. He was surprised to see the MACOs already there, thinking they would be with Major Hayes and with Sergeant Kemper, yet here they were, awaiting his command. “At ease,” he called out, the MACOs did as they were told and watched Malcolm with intent as he spoke. “I've just come from Sickbay, where the Doctor assures me that Sergeant Kemper, Major Hayes, and Ensign Sato will make full recoveries. We've got less than ten hours before this weapon reaches Earth. The Captain wants to take a team aboard to destroy it. I don't imagine the reptilians will make this easy for us, but that's why you're here. That's why Major Hayes picked each one of you for this mission. Because he knew you'd get the job done. I need three volunteers.” He watched as all the MACOs stepped forward, each of them ready to do what they had been told their mission was from the first day of stepping foot on the Enterprise. “Woods, Ramira, Forbes. Assemble your gear. Meet me at the starboard airlock in ten minutes.”

Malcolm turned and sighed, pressing his nose bridge together between his fingers. This mission was going to be far from easy. He would risk his life to protect Earth, but if it didn’t work out, he would die and so would his whole planet and he wasn’t sure he could live with that. He stood up and figured at the least, he could get a hypospray for his new headache before he left for the mission. He turned and walked out of the armoury, back to the sickbay. 

The halls of Enterprise seemed less chaotic than they had been since they had been in the Expanse, it was strange for Malcolm to see. Everyone must have been at their stations because they knew it was almost the end of what they had set out to do, to stop the Xindi. He could see the stars go by as he walked past rooms with windows that had their doors open. If he didn’t ever return to the Expanse after this, it would be all too soon. 

He entered the sickbay and saw Phlox still running between Kemper and Sato, but Hayes was sitting alone in the corner, well not sitting so much, more like lying down but with his shoulders slightly propped against the wall. Malcolm figured it would be best not to bother Phlox, so he went to go find Crewman Cutler, who he found standing next to Hayes’ biobed, talking to him about what the rest of his treatment would be not that he was stable. Maybe Hayes had fallen asleep listening to her medical jargon drag on and on. He’d stepped over to the corner and waved at Cutler, who noticed that he was in a rush, knowing he was prone to headaches was also common knowledge so she already knew what he was there for, and kept talking to Hayes as he laid there with his eyes closed. 

“You know Major, Lieutenant Commander Reed had some pretty intense physical therapy at the start of our voyage,” Cutler hummed, grabbing a hypospray for Malcolm. “He was stabbed through and through in the leg by a Romulan mine.” 

Malcolm nearly jumped when he heard Hayes speak, he was certain the other man had been sleeping. “Really?” Malcolm didn't say a word, he didn't want to disturb Hayes. He also knew if Hayes knew he was here, Hayes would try to join the mission and he couldn't have that. 

Cutler nodded, but Hayes wouldn't have seen it anyway. “Mhm. Isn't that right, Commander?” 

The MACO’s hazel eyes snapped open and he looked straight at Malcolm.  _ Shit, well, there goes my cover _ . Malcolm nodded and smiled weakly at them. “It is. Then we ran into the self-automated repair station and they fixed me up. Nearly killed Travis, but we got away.” 

“Are you going so soon?” Joss inquired of the other man, sitting up a bit more without trying to strain his shoulder. 

“Yes, Captain Archer wanted us to be ready right away.”

“I can be ready for duty --”

“No, Hayes. You have to stay here. You should know better than to go into the line of duty injured like that.”

“But--”

“No buts Hayes,” Malcolm snapped at the Major, gently pushing him back down into the bed. “Stay here.”

“Can I at least come to the airlock to wish my men good luck?” Hayes inquired with large puppy eyes, Malcolm knew he was going to have a hard time getting out of this one. “Please?”

“No, Hayes,” Malcolm replied softly, letting out a sigh and smiling at him. “I'll keep them all safe this time. I swear my life on it.”

Hayes let out a sigh of defeat and slouched back against the pillows. “Just come back safe. All of you.”

“We’ll try our best, Major,” He patted the other man on the shoulder and smiled at Cutler when she gave him the injection. “I'll be back before you can name every crew member on the ship.”

Hayes blinked, a bit surprised that Malcolm would make a joke like that, but he smiled all the same. “I'm counting on it, Reed,” For a moment he was silent, but then a large grin grew on his face. “Captain Jonathan Archer, Sub-Commander T’Pol, Commander Charles Tucker the Third, Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Joseph Reed.”

“Major,” Cutler chuckled softly as she patted him gently on the head. “A bit more quietly and maybe once your pain medicine wears off, we’ll let you go back to your quarters to wait.” 

“Thank you, crewman,” Joss chirped enthusiastically, much different than his regular demeanour, which was far angrier and meaner than what he was like now under the influence of pain medication. 

“And how did you know Commander Reed’s middle name?” Cutler only knew the initial, mostly because the medical files didn’t necessarily need to reveal the whole name. 

Hayes shrugged slightly, unsure of how he did gain the information. “I just do.”

“You two have been awful buddy buddy lately, has something changed?”

“I wouldn’t say so,” Hayes yawned and closed his eyes. “Lieutenant Fincke, Lieutenant Hess, Ensign Hoshi Sato, Ensign Travis Maywe…” 

* * *

 

He woke to a violent shaking, head spinning and his skin felt… different for a lack of better words. “Phlox?” Joss croaked weakly, sitting up but immediately collapsing from the pain in his shoulder. He looked around, Kemper was still there, dazed and confused like he was, but Sato was clearly missing. “What’s going on?” It was as if all the drugs had been filtered out of his body and he was completely sober again, the air was a deep red and he touched his face. It felt like it was cracking into pieces. 

“Calm down!” Cutler yelped, slipping onto the floor as the ship shook again. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” She rushed over and placed a hypo against Hayes’ neck, which immediately helped the pain he was facing on his shoulder. “We’re in an anomaly, it’s fine. Just relax.”

The ship lurched again, this time Hayes could feel it turn a bit, but everything stayed in its place, it must have been a natural movement from the helm, then. He touched his face and felt the cracked skin, it looked slightly like an oil painting as he turned to see his reflection in the turned off monitor in sickbay. “What the hell?”

“We just destroyed the sphere, we kept our half of the deal,” Cutler smiled, hugging Kemper tightly, looking to Hayes. “Now let’s hope the others destroyed the weapon.” 

Hayes solemnly nodded, hands gripping the blankets of the bed he was in. “All we can do is hope,” Just then, Phlox walked in and hugged Cutler tight, smiling widely as he did. “It’s all we’ve got left.”

* * *

 

“Tucker to Major Hayes.”

“Hayes here.”

“Major? They’re back,” Trip’s voice crackled through the comm system, which immediately alerted Hayes and he got up, trying not to irritate his injury. 

“I’m coming!” He pressed the button to end the connection and dashed down to the docking port.  _ You can’t hug your MACOs, you’ll strain your injury.  _ He told himself, walking fast enough to be able to catch up to Trip and T’Pol, watching as the airlock slid open and five of the crew who had left returned. 

Reed stepped out first, a sort of disappointed gruffness in his voice. “It’s done,” He stepped into the main part of the ship and let out a low growl. 

Hayes couldn’t help himself and hugged all three of the MACOs that had left, congratulating each of them softly on their job well done, much like a father would do after a good game from his kids before he took them out for ice cream. 

“Done?” T’Pol inquired, curious eyes looking at Reed. 

“Captain Archer destroyed the weapon,” Malcolm’s voice wavered a bit this time, a little bit of sadness hinting his voice. It wasn’t like the normally stoic armoury officer to show any hint of emotion in his voice. 

Commander Tucker’s eyes filled with concern as he didn’t see Archer, eyes darting back and forth between the all too tired Hoshi and angry gruff Reed. “Where is he? Is he okay?”

Malcolm just looked away and his fingers curled around the plasma rifle, knuckles turning white from how tight his grip was. “He didn’t make it.”

Hayes froze, Archer had sacrificed his life to keep Earth safe, it wasn’t possible, he couldn’t be dead, right? “What do you mean, he didn’t make it.” The Texan called out weakly, his eyes blurry from what he wasn’t sure were tears or from the stress and medication combined in his body. 

The plasma rifle dropped out of Malcolm’s hands and he sighed. “The weapon exploded before the Captain could make it out.”

Hoshi silently stepped over to Trip and leant up against him, arms encircling the engineer in a hug. “I’m sorry, Trip,” She sobbed, head pressed into his shoulder, body shaking. Trip’s arms weakly wrapped around Hoshi, as if he was still processing the information, it probably wasn’t easy to hear that his best friend had been killed.

Joss stood there in a daze, still processing it himself. “Holy shit,” he mumbled to himself as the MACOs escorted Trip and Hoshi to sickbay, looking down at the sling his arm was in. He would have traded his own life for Archer to have this injury, just a few weeks of physical therapy and a happy crew to see him back alive. He was about to walk away when he noticed Reed was still there, shaking softly in his boots. “Lieutenant?”

Reed’s head snapped up as Hayes got close to him, grey eyes staring into the hazel eyes of the MACO. “What?” His voice was barely louder than a whisper, tears filling grey eyes. 

“Come here,” Hayes wrapped an arm around Malcolm, almost sure the other would have punched him in the face before he got there. To his surprise, Malcolm just stood there and let Joss hug him, holding him close. “You did all you could.”

Malcolm shook his head against Hayes’ shoulder, body shivering more and more but his voice managed to remain steady. “I should’ve stayed instead of him.”

“There was nothing you could do,” then Hayes felt the wet spot on his shirt. “Come on, let’s get you to sickbay.”


	2. Storm Front Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Storm Front was originally going to be one big chapter but I ended up having to split it up into two parts, otherwise, it would be way too long. Yes, I'm combining elements from Zero Hour and Storm Front Part II back into this chapter, but that's because I'm going to be writing a lot of new things for my version of Storm Front Part II. Thanks for reading!

The bridge was practically silent as the Enterprise exited the Xindi-Aquatic ship, eyes trained on the solar system in front of them. Malcolm had come back to his bridge station not so long before, but he was still in awe of his own planet being in one piece after this long. The sight of home was always something that made his heart swell with pride and happiness.

“Distance?” T’Pol’s voice cut the silence as they approached Earth, the home planet for most of the crew. 

Travis didn’t even look up from his station but he had a slight smile on his lips, clearly excited to get back to Earth for a little bit. “Eight hundred thousand kilometres.”

T’Pol nodded slightly, not waiting a beat to get to business. “Set a course.”

His head turned towards the turbolift door to see Hoshi and Hayes each stepping out of it. Hayes had his arm in a blue sling still, it was really only because Phlox didn’t want to have him stress the injured muscles more than he had to at any given moment, the sling keeping the arm attached to the shoulder close to his body and constrict the movement. Hoshi still had the dark circles under her eyes and the injuries on her head where the Xindi had placed the device to control her were still clear and appeared slightly swollen, but nothing that would immediately send her to sick bay.

“You should both be in your quarters,” the Vulcan told them softly, knowing they just wanted to go home. 

“No disrespect to Phlox, ma’am,” Hayes replied, shrugging softly as he did, wincing at the sharp pain in his shoulder. 

Hoshi smiled and looked around the bridge, nodding softly. “We wouldn’t miss this for anything.” She gravitated towards her station, sitting down as Trip spoke, Hayes not even noticing that he had drifted to stand behind the tactical station next to Malcolm. 

The image of the stars surrounding a pale blue dot showed up on the view screen, Joss could feel his own breath stop, in awe of the sight. “It’s all in one piece,” he breathed softly, hearing the sound of Malcolm’s breath catch in his throat, the Brit just as happy as he was. 

“Prettiest sight I ever saw.” Trip mumbled, his voice still loud enough so that the whole bridge could hear it.

Malcolm would never admit it, but he was more than relieved to see the water that scared him so much. “The Captain would be proud.”

“Open a channel to Starfleet headquarters,” T’Pol looked at Hoshi and watched as his face scrunched up in confusion. “What?”

Hoshi shook her head and sighed, looking to the rest of the bridge crew. “They’re not responding. I’ve rotated through all the frequencies and tried Lunar One.”

Hayes looked at Malcolm with furrowed eyebrows. “You'd think they'd be waiting with bated breath.”

“You’d think,” the Brit huffed. 

“I'm not picking up the orbital platforms,” Travis commented, looking up from the helm to T’Pol. 

“The Reptilians destroyed Yosemite Station,” Reed and Hayes both said at the same time, before looking at each other with shocked faces. Malcolm flushed brightly and looked away, face scrunching up in embarrassment. Hayes turned his face away and fiddled with the fabric of the sling on his cast. Trip let out a soft snort at their shared exclamation, but stayed mostly silent, just watching his station.

Travis shook his head and sighed, “It's not just Yosemite. There's nothing coming from any of them.” He turned around to face T’Pol, waiting for a new order to come. 

T’Pol looked as pissed as a Vulcan could be, eyebrows lowered by a millimetre and her lips pressed together tighter than usual. She turned her head to face Trip, “Prepare a shuttlepod. I want you and Ensign Mayweather to get down to San Francisco. Find out what's wrong.”

 

* * *

 

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Malcolm growled, listening to the transmissions over and over again. He’d become proficient in war history during his childhood and he knew for a fact that there hadn’t been any been any battles in Virginia or Ohio, yet all of the evidence laid out on the table in front of him was saying that there was. “Are you sure it’s not a mistranslation?”

“No, I speak German fluently,” Hoshi replied, looking at the transmissions as well. “But you’re right, it doesn’t make sense,” She set down the PADD in her hand and let out a sigh. “Just tell T’Pol and Trip, they'll understand. Maybe it's some alternate reality. You know, like the other  _ Enterprise _ in the Expanse?”

“Yeah… maybe,” Malcolm hadn't thought about the future-past  _ Enterprise _ , as he dubbed it, in quite a while. He still couldn't get over the fact that he'd lied about what had happened to him when talking to Hoshi and Travis about it. It wasn't like he was going to admit the truth, that would embarrass him all too much. It was no secret he was gay but at the same time…

“Malcolm?” Hoshi’s soft voice sliced through his thoughts, just ending them and causing Malcolm to just turn to look at her. 

“Hmm?”

Hoshi laughed a bit at his confusion and pointed to the PADD on the table. “You'd better get going.”

“Right. Thank you Hoshi,” he nodded and snatched up the PADD as he walked out of the command centre, smiling at her. 

“Anytime.”

 

* * *

 

When Joss had heard Archer was alive and back on the ship, he couldn't help but smile a bit. He knew Malcolm was probably having a hard time with it because he had thought the man had died at his own fault, but it was better than a dead Captain. 

He'd also heard McKenzie had leapt right onto Archer in a hug and refused to let go. He couldn't tell what was going on between them, but it definitely wasn't just friendship. Maybe he'd have to give some of his Sharks a talking to. 

“Major!” Archer called out to him, running down the hallway. 

Joss was a bit surprised but turned around, smiling at Archer. “Captain, it's good to see you alive.”

“You too,” Jon remarked, starting to walk down the hallway with a slight bounce in his step. “Good to be home. You heading to sickbay?”

The MACO nodded. “Yes, sir. Phlox was going to check on my injury,” he showed Archer the sling on his arm, even though he was sure the Captain already knew about it. 

“Is it better?” Archer showed genuine concern, something that Hayes admired in any superior officer, including himself. He believed a good commanding officer was strict when they had to be but gentle and kind as well when necessary. 

“Yes, just a few more checks. It'll leave a nasty scar, but Phlox says I'll be back to myself in no time.”

“I can't believe it's already been a week since you saved Hoshi.”

“I can barely believe it myself, sir,” first they had saved Hoshi and then destroyed the weapon in a little over two days, then the trip back to Earth took another and they had been stuck trying to figure everything out here for almost four days. He just wanted to be home, back on his family’s farm to relax a bit. 

“Don't worry, Major, we'll be home soon enough,” Archer slapped his good shoulder gently and laughed, the positive attitude of the Captain was infectious and it caused Hayes to smile a bit. “Now let's get to sickbay.”

 

* * *

 

“I'm taking some of the MACOs down to this Earth to get Commander Tucker and Ensign Mayweather with Captain Archer,” Malcolm didn't know why he felt the need to tell Hayes, the Major was currently on medical leave but something in him told him he had to. He'd tried his best to avoid Hayes as of late after his emotional breakdown about the Captain’s death and the second  _ Enterprise _ incident, but now, he felt he had to. 

“You have to let me come, Reed,” Hayes gave the armoury officer large puppy eyes. Malcolm swore he could almost hear a soft whine but he was probably going insane. 

“Did Phlox clear you?”

“No.”

“Well then no,” Malcolm dodged the ball that was thrown at his head, growling a bit at Hayes. “What was that for?” He narrowed his eyes at Joss with a disappointed look on his face. 

Joss chuckled, watching as the ball bounced back. “Physical therapy for my shoulder.” He picked it up again and threw it, aiming right for Malcolm’s chest, which he hit square on. “He said I don't need a lot, but I still need some. Plus, I'm a leftie.”

“No, you're not.”

“I am.”

“I've seen you do things with your right hand more than your left.” 

“Nah, I'm a leftie,” Hayes said, shrugging softly as he picked up the ball with his left hand for emphasis of his point. 

“You're lying.”

“I’m not.”

Malcolm sighed and dodged the ball again, growling a bit to himself. “Well, you still can't go.”

“Please? I really want to punch some Nazis.” Joss picked up the ball again and chucked the ball against the wall just past Malcolm’s shoulder. “Some of my ancestors were Ashkenazi Jewish, it's something I need to do, Reed. For them.”

“No.” Reed sighed and pinched his nose bridge, waving his hand. “I'm leaving now!” He turned and left Hayes’ quarters, still wondering why he'd even gone in the first place. He started out towards the transporter bay and saw Privates Azar and Black standing beside Archer on the transporter pad. He had full confidence in the two MACOs, they’d both done their jobs well to this point.

As soon as they transported down, they were in a forest on what looked like an old hiking trail. Malcolm watched as a tan covered jeep drove towards them, at least two Nazis inside and a grey alien standing up and staring at Archer and his companions. When the jeep came to a stop, the alien climbed out and looked at Archer. Malcolm thought that the creature couldn’t look more disgusting.

“It’s good to see you again, Captain.” Vosk hummed, the grey alien looking intently at Archer with his seemingly glowing red eyes. 

“Where are my men?” Archer growled, eyes not wavering from Vosk. Malcolm stayed right behind Archer with the MACOs, ready to fight if he had to. He watched as Vosk called Trip and Travis out of the jeep, the soldiers shoving the two to the ground. Malcolm heard Travis yelp and he looked at Archer before running to their side. The helmsman had a slight limp, but he could walk fine on his own for the most part. 

“Captain,” Travis mumbled, eyes wide as he looked at Archer, watching Malcolm return to the New Yorker’s side like a loyal dog out of the corner of his eye. 

Trip stared in disbelief for a moment, mouth slightly open as if he had a million words to say. “I don’t believe it… How can you be--”

“Are you alright?” Archer cut off Trip before he could finish his question.

Trip just nodded, looking to Malcolm for a fleeting second before looking back to Archer. “We weren’t exactly treated like royalty.”

“I apologise for the aggressiveness of our questioning,” The grey alien replied, turning to Tucker, with what on a human or Vulcan would have been described as a raised eyebrow. 

Travis let out a low growl, which made Malcolm feel slightly proud. “Aggressive?” The boomer took a more defensive stance, he clearly wanted to punch these men in the face as much as Hayes had wanted to. 

Malcolm let out a snort and growled as well, “Looks more like torture to me.”

Vosk shook his head, eyeing the Brit, “We were operating under a false impression.”

“That they were temporal agents?” Malcolm snapped, causing everyone to look at him.

“Malcolm, enough,” Archer turned to face the armoury officer and glared, they’d clearly have a talk about this later. “Go with them, back to the ship.”

“But sir--” Malcolm protested, he knew that two MACOs wouldn’t be enough to protect him against the half dozen Nazis that stood around him. 

“That’s an order, Lieutenant,” Archer snapped again, he didn’t have time to play any more of Malcolm’s games it seemed.

Reed reluctantly nodded. “Aye, Captain,” He moved closer to Trip and Travis, affording them each a small smile and a pat on the back. 

Archer pulled out his communicator and opened it. “Beam them up. Malcolm too.” And just like that, they were back on the ship.


	3. Storm Front Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eid Muburak everyone! I had just enough time this morning to upload the chapter! I'm working on Home at the moment and it's coming along slowly, but I still have to plot out the rest of the fic after that point. Thankfully, it will be done within the next few days and I'll be able to get along to finish it as soon as possible. Anyway, thank you all so much for reading again!

Malcolm begrudgingly stood next to Hayes as they waited at the transporter alcove for Archer and Silik. “I can’t believe you convinced me to let you come,” Reed mumbled softly, hands resting in the pockets of a pair of faded black slacks, which accompanied the rest of his outfit to go down to this New York that wasn’t anything like their own. 

“You just can’t resist my puppy dog eyes,” Hayes grinned, slowly moving his shoulder in circles to stretch out the almost completely healed muscle. He had to admit, Phlox was a genius when it came to medicine, a week ago he could barely move without being in pain and now he could move it completely normally with only a slight soreness. “Or you felt bad that I couldn’t punch some Nazis when I asked so nicely.”

“Oh hush up, Hayes,” Malcolm snapped at Joss, furrowing his eyebrows and hitting him lightly on the arm. 

Hayes chuckled and shook his head a bit, “What? Are you sad you can’t bring your pulse rifle?” The rifle was too big to hide anywhere on Malcolm’s person, even in the coat he was wearing, so Malcolm had just settled for smaller weapons he could hide on his body. Two phase pistols were hidden at his hips and he had a multitude of smaller weapons hidden on him like knives, both the stabbing and throwing kind, as well as stun grenades if the situation ever arose to use them. 

“Are you sad you can’t bring your stun baton?” Reed teased back, only to be completely shocked by Hayes’ response. 

“I brought my stun baton.” Hayes grinned and 

“What?”

“It fits in my jacket,” Hayes opened up his coat to reveal two stun batons strapped to his torso, Malcolm hadn’t even been able to tell that it was in Hayes’ jacket when it was closed. The MACO was better at hiding things than he thought. “How much more are you hiding on your body?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Malcolm snorted softly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a knife, flipping it open, and pointing it at Hayes. “Much more than you are.”

“Do what you can, move in close and fire at point-blank if you have to,” Archer’s voice cut their conversation off but Malcolm was glad that the captain had done so. “Ready gentleman?”

“Yes, sir.” The two soldiers replied at the same time, instantly giving each other a glare. 

“Good luck,” T’Pol said to the four men. Silik and Archer nodded at each other and Hayes and Malcolm did the same, Hayes still possessing a smirk on his face. The warmth of the transporter beam encased them and then they were back in occupied New York. 

Malcolm and Hayes walked behind Archer and Silik, making sure to stay hidden when there were sounds of vehicles. They were silent as opposed to Silik and Archer who were talking about the temporal cold war and alliances in such a war. Malcolm heard his communicator beep softly and he opened it, listening to what was coming in. 

“Captain,” he called out, getting Archer’s attention. “Hoshi’s getting word of battles about one hundred kilometers sound. There’s heavy bombing involved, sir.” 

“Thanks, Malcolm,” Archer nodded, continuing his trek towards an oil drum that was lit on fire on top like in the old movies Trip played on movie night. He exchanged some words with some of the people around the fire before smiling. “Alicia, Carmine, these are two of my men, Malcolm and Joss, and an unfortunate ally, Silik.” 

Malcolm offered his hand and shook each of their hands. “A pleasure, however unfortunate the circumstances.” Hayes followed suit, but he didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to talk. 

“So what are we hunting this time? The Lochness monster?” Carmine asked Archer, effectively turning the conversation away from Malcolm and Hayes yet again, this time Silik running his mouth off at Carmine a little bit too much. 

It didn’t take the group long to get to the weapons facility, a fight breaking out as soon as they got through the fence. Malcolm leapt out of the car and immediately grabbed two of his throwing knives and hit a German in the shoulder, causing the man to fly back, giving him enough time to pull out one of his phase pistols and shooting another one. Hayes was on the other side of the car and couldn’t help but notice Malcolm’s accuracy and form with the throwing knife, he’d have to ask for some training with them later. Hayes lowered himself and shot at one of the Germans, moving closer and grabbing the knife from the one Malcolm had targeted. Right in the heart between two ribs, now that was impressive. He handed the knife back to Reed as they kept going, each taking turns firing at the various Germans in their path who were shooting them with real bullets. 

“Archer to Reed,” the captain’s voice cackled over the communicator, which Malcolm immediately grabbed with his free hand as he shot at a few more of the Germans. 

“Reed here.”

“We’re inside. Hurry up and join us.”

“On our way,” Malcolm closed the communicator and slipped it back into his pocket, indicating for Hayes to follow him. “Come on, Major, we have to get inside.” The MACO just nodded and followed after Malcolm, staying close to the Fleeter and pulling out one of his stun batons, holding it close in case he needed to attack anyone up close. 

When the alarm sounded Malcolm froze for half a second before he heard the sound of guns firing. He noticed the sound of gunshots not long after and started sprinting down the hallway, seeing Archer and Silik in a gunfight with some of the Germans. There was plenty of them coming from down the hallway and the tactical officer knew they would have to stop them from all getting there. Malcolm grabbed one by the shoulder and spun him around, his fist connecting with the German’s jaw. 

“They're too easy to take out,” Hayes chuckled, slamming his stun baton and pulling the trigger, electrocuting the man before turning around and punching another in the face. “Reed!” 

Malcolm turned around and ducked, kicking the soldier in the legs so he fell to the ground. “Thanks,” the Brit smirked, kicking the man in the side again before standing up and continuing forward. 

There was a final gunshot and then the sound of a phaser, so the pair rushed into the room where Archer and Silik were, dropping to a knee at Archer’s side and having weapons ready if anyone did get close. Malcolm couldn't help but be a little glad Silik was dead, the Suliban had been more than annoying, but he was also glad for the help of the alien. They wouldn't be able to get home without him. 

Archer stood up, pushing his sat back just a little bit as he ran forward, Hayes and Reed following behind him quickly. “Trip!” Jon exclaimed, eyes wide as he saw the engineer with a gun pointed at his face. 

“Hold it right there,” the Floridian growled, narrowing his eyes at the trio. 

“Trip it's us,” Malcolm snapped back, eyes not wavering from the engineer, glad to see his friend alive. 

Trip growled again, glaring at Hayes, then Malcolm, and finally Archer. “Shut up and drop the disguise, Suliban. I'll blow your ugly mugs off your shoulders.”

“You’ll regret that, sir,” Joss sidestepped to show the body of Silik and he put his weapon back at his side. 

“Cap’n? Malcolm? Hayes?” Trip’s eyes were wide now, he was surprised to see the Captain alive and well. 

Archer smiled at Trip. “Good to see you, Commander.”

The engineer lowered the hand gun and almost seemed to stop breathing. “You're alive?”

“As long as you don't pull that trigger,” Jon chuckled, stepping closer to Trip. 

“I can't ---” Trip pulled Archer into a hug. “I can't believe it.”

“I hate to ruin a moment,” Malcolm called out, looking at his communicator. “But the building’s about to blow up.”

“Right, gotcha.” Trip nodded and ran after them, prying Hayes and Reed each on the shoulder as they escaped the building. 

Carmine noticed the four of them all coming out and yelled at his people to cover them, which allowed the four  _ Enterprise _ men to get behind one of the cars. Trip was huddled close to the Captain, who was talking to Alicia, while Hayes kept firing. 

“Captain! Planes!” Malcolm called out as the rebels started falling back, looking up to the sky. “German dive bombers, stukas. The  _ Enterprise _ will be fine, but I don't know if we will if we're down here much longer.” 

“Hayes to  _ Enterprise _ ,” The Major commanded into his communicator. “We've got Tucker, beam us up!” 

Once the group of four was back on the ship, Malcolm and Archer made a mad dash for the bridge, Archer taking off his coat as he slipped into the Captain’s chair. “Photonic torpedoes,” The bridge shook as the planes had fired the modified weapons at the hull, causing sparks to fly as they did. “Malcolm!”

Malcolm had slipped back behind his station, the replacement tactical officer easily getting out of the way. “One kilometer!” He snapped back at Archer, focusing heavily on his station. “I can see it.” 

“Take it out,” the captain commanded, standing up and moving across to Malcolm. “Now!”

Malcolm aimed and fired, watching as the torpedoes hit the facility and the explosion that followed barely seconds after. Trip and Hayes had walked quickly onto the bridge as this happened and everything seemed to shift around them. All of the damage that had been there before was now gone, the bridge in good condition yet again. 

“Everyone okay?” Archer asked, getting a nod from everyone on the bridge. 

“Captain, look!” Travis smiled, the Earth they were looking at definitely was the right one. 

“Hoshi, check the time?” Was his only question in response to Travis’s exclamation in happiness and excitement. 

There was a long moment of silence before Hoshi smiled, eyes brimming with tears like she was about to cry out of pure joy. “Lunar One, several orbital stations, San Francisco, they're all calling in.” 

“Ships approaching,” T’Pol added, looking up to Archer. “Dozens.”

“Well they look friendly enough, don't they?” The view screen showed ships of all kinds, Vulcan ships, freighters, Warp 2 vessels all the way up to Warp 4. “Welcome home. Looks like we’re getting a hero’s reception.” 


	4. Home

Malcolm threw another punch, hitting the punching bag and growling loudly. He shouldn't have let the drunk man at the bar get to him, he shouldn't have gotten into a bar fight. Malcolm tugged at his shirt and pulled it off, it was too hot in the room for one anyway. His fist slammed into the bag again, watching it fly for a second before it came back. His eyes narrowed and he turned, lifting his foot and kicking the bag. 

“Cut the poor punching bag a break, Reed,” Joss hummed, standing in the doorway, the light from the hallway making him look like a silhouette only. The gym was dark and Malcolm’s form was barely visible the only things that could be seen were the highlights against his body from the hallway light. Joss stepped towards Malcolm and turned on the light, flipping the switch on so the whole gym lit up. 

Malcolm could suddenly see Hayes’ whole form, the MACO’s normally slicked back hair was now halfway fallen in front of his face, wet from what was probably swimming in the pool at the same facility. Hayes had a towel slung over his shoulders, further proving to Malcolm that he had been swimming not long before. Grey eyes scanned Hayes’ form and Reed couldn't help but notice the other man’s well toned body, it was slightly distracting. 

“Want a sparring partner?” The voice of the Texan pulled Malcolm out of his thoughts, the slight drawl in the Major’s voice more noticeable than it had been on the ship. Hayes was relaxed, at least from what Malcolm could tell. Being in Earth was relaxing him a bit, he had to admit, but Malcolm was ever ready for danger. 

“What are you doing here?” The Brit growled, narrowing his eyes at Hayes. 

“I'm stuck in town for a few more days, I've got debriefings.” 

“Not going home?”

“I will, once the debriefings are over,” Hayes shrugged and put his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “What about you? Going home?”

“I live in San Francisco.”

“You're not going to see family?”

“No.”

“That's too bad,” Hayes shrugged again, stepping closer to Malcolm yet again. “So?”

“So what?”

“Need a sparring partner?” 

Malcolm lifted his fists into a defensive position. “How could I turn down the offer?” He chuckled, shaking his head a bit at Hayes.

“I knew you couldn’t resist.” Joss mirrored Malcolm’s position, ready to see how much the lieutenant commander would be willing to show him. 

“I’ll be more careful this time.” Malcolm teased, jabbing at Hayes. “No bruised kidneys this time.”

Malcolm threw his fist at Hayes in a familiar motion, which Hayes quickly blocked. “Nice forearm block.” Another punch and a kick, Hayes knew this fight all too well. It was the same one they had in the Expanse that had ended up with them both in sickbay and yelled at by Archer. “A little faster on the combination, Commander.” He teased, even though the combination had definitely been improved in since the last time they had sparred like this. 

Malcolm scoffed at Joss and did something the other man wasn’t expecting, grabbing him by the shirt and slamming him into a nearby wall. “Is that fast enough for you?” 

Hayes just nodded and used his extra height and weight as an advantage to push Malcolm way from where he was being pinned. Once he was free, Hayes grabbed Malcolm’s face and pulled him close, slamming their lips together. Malcolm barely objected to this but pushed away after a second, his lips slightly swollen from the rough and unexpected kiss, but he went back for a second kiss, this time allowing Hayes to push him into the wall. 

When Hayes pulled back, panting a bit as he looked at Malcolm. “So, your place?”

“Toss me my shirt and then we can go.”

* * *

 

 

Malcolm blinked as he woke up, scrunching his face up at the brightness of the day. How could San Francisco be so sunny at the moment? He was sure he'd closed the blinds too. He felt a warm body pressed against his back and a hand cupping his left pectoral, it was a comforting presence and he was tempted to go back to sleep. He closed his eyes and sighed, he wasn't on duty, he could sleep in. He could feel his bed partner placing kisses to the back of his neck and he let out a pleasant hum. 

“Good morning to you too,” Hayes’ sleepy drawl mumbled out between kisses to Malcolm’s neck. He uncurled himself from around Malcolm and propped himself up on his elbow. The Major just watched as Reed slowly shifted to face him, this was far from the Reed he knew on the job. The armoury officer was being cuddly like a teddy bear and far more tactile than he usually was, it was almost like he was showing a different part of himself to Joss. Joss leaned down to kiss Malcolm but the man just pushed him away. 

“We can't do this,” Reed sat up and looked away for half a second. His eyes were filled with… was that shame? “I'm your commanding officer.” 

“Mal---” 

“Don't call me that.”

“Well let me finish then, Reed.” Hayes grumbled. “Major and Lieutenant Commander are equal rank between MACOs and Starfleet. You're not my commanding officer.” 

“We serve on the same ship! It wouldn't be appropriate!”

“There are so many other couples on the ship. You've seen T’Pol and Tucker and Archer and McKenzie! Why can't we be like that too?”

“Because that's not how it works!” Malcolm yelled, shoving Hayes away with full force. Grey eyes were wide with panic and confusion, he looked away after a moment. 

“So, we’re not going to talk about any of  _ this _ ?” Hayes made a vague motion to the air as he pulled on his pants, but clearly what he was talking about was etched right into the mind of Malcolm just like it was in his own. “Any of it?  _ Because this is us!” _

The Brit snorted and kicked his feet out of the bed, head hanging as he growled, “It’s not us! That was  _ them _ and that was some past!” He was loud, his thoughts clearly strained from what he had read about himself during the incident with the other  _ Enterprise.  _

Joss let out a soft sigh and stood up, pulling on his shirt and grabbing his boots from beside the bed. “Thanks for the company last night.” He mumbled, sliding on his sweatshirt as he marched out of the bedroom, slamming the door as he left the apartment. The MACO was furious, he knew they would need to talk about it eventually, especially when they had both seen the same things, they’d been in the same room when the files were shared. Malcolm had given him a dirty glare and hadn’t talked to him properly since then.

All the meanwhile, Malcolm let out a sigh and stared at his hands. He needed a shower.

* * *

 

 

As soon as Hayes stepped off the transport he let out a sigh and pushed up his hat. He was glad to be back in Texas, he’d missed it more than anything whenever he was deployed. It was his home, where he was born and raised. The warm summer air made him grin, he hadn’t been home in a year at this point. 

“J-Bird!” He turned around to see his three kids running towards him and their mother walking behind them, clearly not going as fast. He dropped his bag and opened his arms, wrapping the three kids in a tight hug. 

“Hey, kiddos,” Joss smiled, placing a kiss to each of his kids’ heads. “I missed you,” He put his hand on his youngest’s head and laughed a bit. “You got taller, Stevie.”

“Just a few inches, J-Bird. Grandma’s been keeping track on the wall,” The little light brunet boy grinned, showing a few missing teeth. He was a rough and tumble boy, Hayes knew that one day he would be a football player or a soccer player with all his energy and strong build, much like his own. Steve was the youngest, only 9, which made him only three when his parents had divorced and it had been the easiest on him, he could mostly understand what was going on now, but he had always been the most easy going of the three. 

Hayes nodded and threw an arm around Michael. “And how about you, Michael?”

Michael lifted his head from where it was in Hayes’ chest and hummed. “I help Grandpa on the farm now! I helped him milk the cows, J-Bird!” Michael had his mother’s blond hair, but he had Joss’ hazel eyes, ones that lit up at anything relating to animals or baseball. Michael had formed an immediate attachment to his grandparents and loved to be on their farm, it was probably one of his favorite places to be. 

“That’s great, Michael. You have to show me tomorrow, okay?” He ruffled the hair of the boy, taking his hat and putting it on his oldest son’s head. “And your swing, I know you’ve been practicing, Grandma sent me a video of that home run you hit.” His hazel eyes then drifted to the last of his children, a smile on his face. “And what about you Emily? How’s school been?”

The girl was the spitting image of Joss when he was younger, light brown hair that curled right over her face but was straight everywhere else, including the glasses. She was the oldest of the bunch and smarter than any kid Joss ever knew, and he knew plenty of kids. “It’s been fine, J-Bird, I start high school in the fall,” she mumbled softly, looking away from him. 

This caused Hayes to worry a little bit, he would have to talk to her more later. “So, your mother let you stay with us while I’m on leave for two weeks?” He asked Emily, looking at the little girl he had missed growing up for the last year in space and when he was out on deployments.

“I did.” Joss looked up to see Rosalina, his ex-wife, one who clearly didn’t look happy to be giving up custody time. “So, you’re a hero now? Is that what I heard?” She clearly had a bit of venom in her voice, but he would ignore it, she didn’t like him after all. He often found himself wondering how they’d even been married in the first place. 

Joss raised an eyebrows at her. “Where’d you hear that from, Rosa?” He rested his hands in his pockets, eyes narrowed a bit. “From Lionel, I assume?” He wasn't very happy with Rosa’s new husband for many reasons, one of which was that he was the reason for their divorce. 

“Keep him out of this, Joss.” Rosa growled softly at him. 

Joss crossed his arms and snorted. “Well he's been raising my kids while I've been saving humanity from extinction. I don't think I can avoid him.” 

“J-Bird, Mom.” Emily rose her voice just a little bit, looking at her father and mother. “Please don't fight here, not in front of Michael and Steve.” 

The Major nodded, if anything he always tried his best not to argue with Rosa in front of the kids. “Right, well, let's go home, okay? I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa can't wait for us all to be home together.” He rested his hands on the shoulders of his sons, leading them along. He nodded at his ex-wife, a temporary peace offering to her as he walked away. 

“They're waiting in the parking lot, J-Bird!” grinned Steve, pulling his father’s arm as Emily and Michael said goodbye to their mother. The youngest Hayes boy was clearly more excited to see his father than to say goodbye to his mother. “They wanted to surprise you! Grandma said she’s going to make Frito pies for you!” 

Hayes shook his head, of course his mother would make one of his childhood favorites when he was home from a deployment. He picked up his bags and kept walking, watching as his children excitedly ran around him to get to the parking lot. He broke out in a grin when he saw his mother’s van sat just outside the transport terminal. 

“Joshua David Hayes Junior!” Her voice was loud and 

“Hey, Mom,” Joss dropped his bags again and hugged his mother tightly. She was shorter than him by more than a few inches, closer to Hoshi’s height at about five foot five inches. She had the same dark hair as Hayes, the men in the family were the ones who had the light hair. “I missed you.”

She pulled away from the hug and kissed his forehead, even if Hayes did have to lean down so she could. “I missed you too, Joshua.” 

“Mom,” he chuckled, looking at her. “Can we go home? I heard you were making Frito pies.”

“You’re just like my abuelo, Joss.” His mother chuckled, taking his bag and putting it into the back of her van. “Of course, I’m sure your father and siblings can’t wait to see you again.”

Hayes chuckled and climbed into the passenger seat of the van, buckling himself in and letting out a content sigh. “Glad to be home, Mom.”


	5. The Augments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took so long, school's back in session and I'm doing college apps, as well as having a job now. Anyway, this chapter was also really long and I'll be trying to condense most of the arcs until the Klingon augment arc in which the whole thing with Section 31 will be revealed. Thank you so much for reading guys!

Malcolm trudged through the halls, shore leave certainly didn’t seem right without an emergency call back to the ship. He had spent most of the time cooped up in his apartment until Madeline had come to visit him and noticed he clearly hadn’t bathed in days or even left his bed for that matter. She had at least convinced him to do a few things before she had left back to England, but for the most part, Malcolm was ignoring all his usual routines and lazing around. The call back to the ship had made him jump up, finally he had something to do again, but he would have to confront Hayes again after what had happened last time they had encountered each other. Hayes had been soft and gentle with him, somehow knowing all the right places to touch and caress to make Malcolm feel good. He had taken a bit of Malcolm’s heart and stolen it, but Malcolm tried to ignore it just as much as the other Enterprise they had seen. 

Grey eyes calmly looked around the bridge as he entered, everything mostly the same, just a few upgrades here and there. He walked over to his tactical station, examining it to make sure everything was mostly the same, that he wouldn’t need more training to use it again. He ran his hand over the familiar panels and let out a sigh. It was good to be home again. He looked up as the doors to the turbolift opened again, seeing that Hoshi and Travis had walked through, still in their civvies just as he was. They were laughing and talking, clearly telling each other stories about their shore leave. He felt a slight pang of jealousy, he had never had that many friends and he envied most of the people on the ship being able to make friends easily.

“Malcolm!” Hoshi smiled, leaning on his station as she stood there. “How was your shore leave?” The young woman looked well rested, as did Travis, who had probably gone rock climbing during his whole leave. 

“It was fine. I did some reading. My sister came to visit.” Malcolm mumbled, deciding it was better not to talk about what had occurred between Hayes and himself and the fact that he had stayed in bed for over a week. That was a bit of sore spot, especially since Malcolm tried his best to hide his ridiculously low self-esteem. 

Travis was about to say something when the turbolift doors opened again, this time revealing the Captain, T’Pol, Trip, and Hayes. The latter two were talking in some indistinguishable southern accent combination and smiling widely. Now Malcolm was more jealous than ever, Trip knew about his feelings for Hayes, if he even went so far as to call them feelings, he couldn’t believe Trip was being overly friendly and touchy with Hayes at the moment. He would have marched over there and yelled at Trip if not for the fact that they were on the bridge and Archer was calling a small meeting.

By the time the meeting was over, Hayes could tell something was off with the ship’s dear tactical officer, deciding to follow him back down to the armoury. Of course, he wasn’t going as fast as Malcolm, he was only trailing by a few minutes after he had finished up talking to Trip and Hoshi, both of whom were glad to see that he was doing alright and that his shoulder was healing up well. He'd wandered down the familiar hallways and waved as each person he recognized smiled back. Of course, there were still unfamiliar faces, they'd lost quite a few people in the Expanse, after all. 

He made his way through the armoury doors as quietly as possible before looking for Malcolm. He wasn’t in visible sight, but he had to be around the armoury somewhere, he always was. Hayes peered around and found Malcolm’s legs sticking out from the inside of a torpedo launcher, he must have been working inside of it. Hayes rapped on the tube softly, hearing Reed growl as he banged his head on the inside. 

“What?” He snapped, sliding out and looking at Hayes. There was some grease on his face that Hayes wanted to reach up and wipe away, but he decided against it. 

“Commander, can we talk?”

Malcolm huffed and stood up to his full height, still shorter than Hayes, as he grabbed a PADD and started tapping some things into it. “I’d rather not, Major.” He looked up at the other and shook his head. “I don’t have time. I need to prepare for Soong coming on board.”

“Well I’ll help and we can talk.” Hayes offered, taking a step closer to get closer to Malcolm, peering over his shoulder. “Okay?”

“I’d rather do this on my own, Major.” Malcolm growled, staring right into Joss’ hazel eyes with weary grey ones that Joss couldn’t help but noticed looked red and puffy like Malcolm had been crying. 

Joss just nodded and dismissed himself, knowing from his experience as a father it was best not to push too much. All he could hope for is that maybe sometime later Malcolm would want to open up. Thankfully, the other man had commed him to tell him that they would both be escorting Soong to their brig along with two other MACOs as well as T’Pol and Archer. Maybe they would get the chance to talk then, but for now, he would continue to work as they prepared to bring Soong on board. 

By the time that came around, Hayes was fully acquainted with the ship and its crew, as well as his MACOs. He’d met Malcolm, T’Pol, and Archer at the airlock where a team of his people had brought up Soong. 

“Captain, do I have permission to come aboard?” Soong smirked, his voice almost poison as he spoke. Hayes growled a bit, he already didn’t like this man. 

Archer just glared at Soong before introducing T’Pol, who snapped right back at him with a remark that made Hayes smirk just a little bit. Then Archer turned to Hayes and indicated to him. “MACO contingent CO, Major Joshua Hayes.” 

Hayes snorted a bit. “Doctor.”

“I've heard of you, but I don't recognize your face. You're not getting your fair share of publicity.” Soong hummed, curiously trying to see if he could rile up Hayes. 

“I think I’ve had all I can stand,” Hayes growled back, rolling his eyes. 

“And Malcolm Joseph Reed, the boy after my own heart,” he smirked, turning to Malcolm with excited blue eyes.

“You know Malcolm?” Archer snapped, looking to Soong then Malcolm, then back again. “You know him?”

“Sir, I---”

“I do know Malcolm,” Soong preened, smirking a bit more. “Malcolm is one of my favorite kids.”

“Kids?” Archer asked, looking at Malcolm who was clearly looking down at his feet and trying to make himself as small as possible. “Does that mean you’re an augment?” 

“That would be logical to assume, Captain.” T’Pol nodded, looking at Reed, who was still looking away. “Commander?” 

Malcolm pursed his lips and continued to look at his feet, a red flush rising onto his face. He swallowed nervously and made some sort of a sound, but it was all the too quiet to hear. 

Hayes felt bad for Malcolm, he wasn't used to being put on the spot like this, especially when it came to people who had worked against humanity. “Sir, this may just be a ploy to push us further apart. I recommend taking Soong to his quarters.”

Archer nodded and looked at Hayes. “You're right, Major.” He nodded to the MACOs and started down the hall with Soong. 

“Thank you,” came Malcolm’s tiny squeak as soon as Archer and his party were out of earshot. He looked up at Hayes with a nervous flush. 

“It's not a problem, sir.”

“I suppose we should talk now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And since we're talking, call me Malcolm.”

“Okay, Malcolm. Call me Joss,” Hayes smiled, nodding at the other soldier with understanding hazel eyes. 

They started down the corridor towards the MACO’s private training area, just one deck below where they were now. Hayes had an office there, one that had previously been unoccupied as each of the department heads had theirs on the upper decks close to their main areas. T’Pol’s had been near the labs, Malcolm’s by the armoury, and Trip’s right off of engineering, so that meant Hayes had his on the lower decks where the MACOs carried out most of their work. As soon as they were in Hayes’ office, Malcolm sat down on the couch in the office, tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. The Major had done his best to make it comfortable because he wanted his men to come and be comfortable with him if they needed to talk about anything.

Hayes sat down next to him on the couch, facing so he could look at Malcolm. “So?” The MACO inquired, wanting to reach out and hold the other man in his arms, comforting him and just letting him cry if he needed to. 

“So,” Malcolm sighed, looking away from Joss, swallowing his anxiety. “Where do I start?”

“The beginning would be nice,” Joss suggested, moving his hand slightly closer to Malcolm’s and brushing his thumb over the other’s hand and holding it softly. 

The Brit nodded, closing his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath before he began. “Before I was born, my parents were told I wouldn’t survive the birth. That I was weak, riddled with genetic impurities.” 

“So they enhanced you?”

“In the womb, yes,” Malcolm sighed, looking back to Hayes. “So here I am. I’m no genius, but I’m smart, stronger than someone else my size and… not dead.”

Hayes chuckled softly. “I like it when you’re not dead, Mal,” he gently pressed his forehead against Malcolm’s. “You don’t need to tell me more, I’m just glad you’re okay now.”

Malcolm flushed red and leaned forward to capture the MACO’s lips in his own. “And I really like you, but this---”

“This is fine, especially with the Captain having the hots for one of my sharks,” Joss hummed, kissing Malcolm back. “So about those feeling,” he started, gently cupping Malcolm’s cheek.

And when Malcolm opened his eyes, he was gone with only the leftover light of the transporter and the lack of warmth on his cheek.

* * *

Hayes slammed his body against the cage he was being held in, hazel eyes looking around at the slave market nervously. He felt sick due to whatever the Orions had injected into him, not to mention the tag that the Orions had put on all of their slaves up for auction. Though he had to admit, the muzzle he had been given was a bit too much even though he was biting some of the Orions to try to stop them from tagging him, even after restraining his hands.

He had seen maybe one or two of the other crew members that had been taken, but he couldn’t quite be so sure, he was starting to see things and he couldn’t tell if they were real or not. He could hear the chaos of a fight breaking up outside, he wanted to fight but still, he didn’t feel quite so right. Joss turned around when he head the door to the outside open, seeing Malcolm, though he wasn’t quite sure if it was a hallucination or not. He thrashed against the cage and growled loudly, pupils wide as he stared at Malcolm. 

Reed was taken aback at the sight he saw, the strong MACO he had fallen for was now bound like a rabid dog and in a cage just like one too. His hands nervously fumbled with the locks and as soon as he got them free, Hayes leapt at him. Malcolm stepped aside and Hayes landed on the ground face first, scrambling up and pulling at the muzzle over his face with bound hands. 

“Joss,” Malcolm softly urged, placing his hands gently on the other man’s cheeks. “It's just me, it's Malcolm.” He could hear the MACO whimper and he gently stood up and removed the restraints from Joss’ hands. “It's okay, I've got you now, alright, love?” He whispered softly, gently running a hand over the other’s hair. “I'm going to transport us up to the ship, alright?” 

Hayes nodded weakly and looked at Malcolm, pupils still wide, but at least now he had something to focus on. He tried tugging at the muzzle again but stopped when he felt a sharp pain in his neck. He could hear Malcolm say something about the tag that would hurt him if he tried to pull the muzzle off. Malcolm flipped open his communicator and mumbled into it before Hayes felt the warm sensation of beaming up. 

He hadn't even realized he had ended up in sickbay before long, lying down on a bio bed with his head in Malcolm’s lap as the Brit stroked his hair. Phlox was shining some sort of light in his eyes and saying something vaguely scientific and doctor sounding but Hayes still couldn't focus and he still felt sick. He closed his eyes for a moment and felt a tug at his neck, then a quick but sharp pain and he let out a tired groan. 

“We can remove the muzzle now, Mister Reed.” Phlox’s chipper voice chimed in Hayes’  ears for a moment before he realized he could reach up and take it off. 

But he didn’t, instead, he felt gentle hands gently take the muzzle off of his face. Hayes’ first instinctual reaction was to lash out, to scream, to do anything that would show he was alive and not some restrained pet, but the gentle hands on his head kept him calm and as he looked up, he saw the familiar face of Malcolm looking down on him. He smiled weakly and then felt everything turn to black. 

 

* * *

 

Jonathan Archer had never been one to be kind to those people who hurt his crew, especially not those who were the source of many of his problems, like Arik Soong currently was being. Pacing back and forth in front of the brig, he glared at Soong. “You knew exactly where the Orions were operating. You knew they'd abduct members of my crew. Maybe you were even hoping they'd get you.”

Soong simply shrugged, “There was an outside chance.”

“You were determined to escape, no matter who got hurt,” Archer yelled. He was fiercely protective of his crew, but almost anyone who had interacted with him could tell that.

Soong shrugged again. “No one was injured.”

“Ten of my people were nearly sold into slavery. Two of them may have permanent physical damage because of the restraints and at least one might have psychological damage!” Archer was beyond pissed now, he couldn't believe Soong was just playing this off like it was nothing. Thankfully for the scientist, the United Earth didn't believe in the death penalty anymore, otherwise, Archer would have ended it right there. 

“I didn't take this action lightly.” 

Archer felt like Soong was just trying to earn his sympathy now, even though Archer felt he had earned none of it. “Is that supposed to justify what you did?”

“I'm simply saying it wasn't easy for me to place you and your crew in jeopardy. I respect you, Captain,” Soong said. 

Archer scoffed in disbelief. “Then tell me how to find the Augments. You know where they're going.” It wasn’t a request, it was more of an order.

Soong rolled his eyes at them and shook his head. “They didn't steal a Klingon ship to go sightseeing.”

“They're dangerous,” Archer spat, practically growling like Porthos at a cat.

“They're the future,” Soong chimed, much like a preacher to his choir. “They're stronger, smarter, free from sickness, with life spans twice as long as our own. You, more than anyone, should appreciate what this means. 

“Why me?” Archer furrowed his eyebrows, there was no connection, Archer didn’t know why Soong would even try to connect the augments to him.

“Your father suffered from Clarke's Disease. His final years were marked by extreme pain,” Soong smirked, knowing he had hit a soft spot for Archer. 

“My father has nothing to do with this,” Archer snapped, growling louder than before. 

“He didn't need to suffer. Genetic engineering could've cured him. Those who want to suppress my Augments are the same ones who condemned your father to death.” Soong paused and looked at Archer, seeing that just his father wouldn't get through to him alone. “Or what about your Commander Reed?”

Archer stared at Soong in disbelief, there was no way that his own Tactical Officer would keep something this drastic from him, “What about him?”

“He’s not all you think he is, Captain. He may not be one of the Augments you’re looking for, but he is one all the same. I see him like a son because of that, because I helped to engineer him when his father just saw an embryo riddled with the genetic abnormalities who would die hours or days after being born. I would have raised him as my own if it wasn’t for Admiral Reed’s pride in a genetically engineered son he never loved!” Soong snapped loudly, then there was a long silence, he had no idea what to say for a moment. “Turn the ship around, Captain. Go home. Leave them alone. 

“I'm going to find them, Doctor, whether you help me or not.” And with that, Archer was gone. 


End file.
